regionalism
(ˈriːdʒənəlɪz(ə)m)
[f. prec. + -ism.]
1. Tendency to, or practice of, regional systems or methods; localism on a regional basis. Also, on a national or international scale: the theory or practice of regional rather than central systems of administration, or of economic, cultural, or political affiliation; the study of such phenomena as they relate to geographic factors.
| 1881 Manch. Guard. 4 Feb., That unfortunate ‘regionalism’ of Italy which has been described by..recent writers in the country. 1887 Edin. Rev. Jan. 107 The spirit of local individualism,—in politics somewhat inharmoniously dubbed ‘regionalism’. 1919 Geddes & Brandford in C. B. Fawcett Provinces of England p. ii, ‘Regionalism’ was, indeed, first a French word: and this not merely in geography, but also in politics, and long before the war. From Brittany to Provence its studies have been long preparing. 1923 G. M. Trevelyan Manin & Venetian Revolution xiv. 244 He abandoned his Republican faith and his Venetian ‘regionalism’ in view of the new circumstances of Italy. 1931 E. C. Mower Internat. Govt. v. 89 Regionalism, it is claimed, is justified both from the defensive value of natural frontiers and on sound economic principles, having regard to the needs of modern industrial life. 1934 Encycl. Soc. Sci. XIII. 208/2 Regionalism has been called a manifestation of ‘world federalism’ and an intermediate stage between administrative decentralization and federalism. 1936 Columbia Univ. Quart. Mar. 268 Regionalism can..be defined as the study of the relation of man to geographic areas, and the potentialities which this relation presents in terms of human welfare and progress. 1948 G. A. Johnson in K. M. Panikkar Regionalism & Security 45 Of these claims on behalf of regionalism the United Nations Charter is concerned directly with only one. 1959 A. H. Robertson Europ. Institutions i. 4 As the idea of universalism waned,..that of regionalism developed. 1962 L. Golding Dict. Local Govt. 332 When War broke out in 1939 regionalism was applied in practice by dividing the country for purposes of civil defence and the administration of other emergency services into twelve large areas, each of which was placed in the charge of a Commissioner. 1965 Haas & Schmitter (title) The politics of economics in Latin American regionalism. 1970 Cantori & Spiegel Internat. Polit. of Regions i. 1 Sometimes ‘regionalism’ has been studied exclusively in terms of regional organization. 1977 M. Hudson Global Frontiers xv. 195 (heading) The new regionalism. |
2. A regional word, phrase, or peculiarity of pronunciation which is not part of the standard language of a country; regional distinctiveness in literature.
| 1953 S. A. Brown in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 40/1 We go then to what is called the New Negro Movement, then to Regionalism. 1954 F. G. Cassidy S. Robertson's Development Mod. English v. 126 The third [sc. you-all] is a regionalism. 1955 Times 7 May 9/4 The regionalism of American writing falls into place beside that of Scotland or Ireland. 1964 Language XL. 93 Intellectual leaders of the Seicento..did not hesitate to use, as nonce-forms, regionalisms like parapaglia ‘butterfly’ (based on Bolognese parpaja..) and sfragaro ‘wastrel’ (Calabrese-Sicilian). 1974 R. A. Hall External Hist. Romance Lang. 216 Some lexical regionalisms have been inevitable in films made in, say, Mexico or Argentina. 1978 Amer. Speech LIII. 13 The layman applies the term imprecisely to a large body of lexemes including true slang, jargon, regionalisms, and colloquialisms, which are vaguely perceived as slang by such groups as college students. |
So ˈregionalist, one inclined to regionalism (also attrib. and as adj.); regionaˈlistic a.
| 1898 Contemp. Rev. Sept. 325 As Catalonian Leagues, Regionalistic propagandas.., and Press protests testify. 1900 Daily Express 10 July 1/7 The regionalists of Catalonia are preparing a violent campaign against bull-fights. 1919 Geddes & Branford in C. B. Fawcett Provinces of Eng. p. iii, The most discerning..regionalists of to-day are also among the most appreciative of truly comprehensive politics. 1925 L. Mumford in Survey 15 Apr. 151/1 The regionalist attempts to plan such an area so that all its sights and resources..may be soundly developed. 1934 Encycl. Soc. Sci. XIII. 216/1 There was a revival of regionalist feeling in Italy after the World War. 1937 F. Borkenau Spanish Cockpit i. 59 The Basque provinces, naturally, voted for the Basque regionalists. 1941 J. Masefield In Mill 112 The Regionalist novel-writers. 1944 A. Brecht in Regionalism & World Organization 11 The universalists want a world-wide organization; the major-regionalists recommend federations of continental scope; the minor-regionalists propose federal groupings of smaller countries; and the ideological unionists advocate a confederation of democracies or a league of the United Nations. 1977 Economist 23 Apr. 56/1 The three major regionalist parties [in Belgium]—the Walloon Rally, the Volksunie and the Francophone Front. 1977 G. P. Atkins Lat. Amer. in Internat. Polit. System i. 9 Regionalists were primarily concerned with security arrangements for and keeping the peace in delineated geographical areas. |